BASS
Carson Webber is a session musician based out of Vancouver and the bass player for The Long War , Small Town Artillery , and Year of the Wolf . www . thelongwarband . com . www . smalltownartillery . www . yearofthewolf . bandcamp . com .
By Carson Webber
Notes for Session Bassists
Are you interested in session work ? This is for bass players and other musicians that want to play in a studio setting . With lots of hard work , knowledge of your instrument and recording situation , plus a great reputation , it ’ s just a matter of time until you ’ re hired . Here are some things that I ’ ve picked up over the years that can hopefully help with your workflow and approach to session work .
Building a Reputation In my experience , there are two components to building your reputation as a session player . The first is being a really , really good musician . If you don ’ t have the chops , you ’ re not booking gigs .
It doesn ’ t help if you ’ re really good at one thing . Can ’ t play jazz ? Learn it right now . What about samba ? Reggae ? Metal ? Funk ? R & B ? Becoming familiar with and actively practicing as many styles of music as you can will make you more dynamic and flexible . Don ’ t delude yourself into thinking that you ’ re good enough , ever . If you promote yourself as a pro who deserves to be paid , make sure you ’ re prepared and well versed in many musical styles .
That brings us to the second component . Jordan Gauthier of YC Drum Company once said , “ You gotta be a good hang .” You might have all the chops in the world , but if you have a bad attitude , you ’ re not working . Keep your mind and body as healthy as you can . Get enough to eat and sleep . Stay positive and professional . Often , by the time an artist is ready to have you in , they ’ ve been working tirelessly for weeks . Sometimes it can get a little tense . I view session work as an opportunity to breathe some fresh energy and positivity into a project .
Going into the Gig
Scenario 1 – Long Lead Time Obtain scratches and charts well before the studio date . Sometimes , the scratches will already have bass line ideas on them . If this is the case , learn them and know how to play them , but recognize they are hiring you because you ’ re a pro , so they may just be guidelines inviting your personal touch unless otherwise stated . With all this time , the last thing you want to do is procrastinate . This way we can avoid stress and instead use the opportunity to write something really good .
The first step is to listen to the tracks with purpose – no instruments in hand , no other distractions . Just sit and really listen to what the song wants to be .
We ’ re listening for the song ’ s movement , opportunities for dynamics , spaces where bass could be more active , and to see if any ideas pop into our minds before we sit down with a bass .
Because there ’ s time , I usually noodle around and then let it sit for a day and come back with fresh ears . When we ’ re ready to put our hands on it , keep the lines simple at first . I find most times , once you have a good , simple bass line , your final recorded line will end up close to that with a few tweaks . Play with it a bunch , trying new things and variations . Once you find a line that fits , write it down and record it . If possible , record over the scratches and listen back the next day to see how you feel . Then it ’ s all practice .
Don ’ t get too attached to those lines , though , as the artist or producer may ask you for something different . At least then you really know the song and can quickly make changes .
Scenario 2 – Short Lead Time Obtain scratches ( and hopefully charts ) a few days before the session . We need to hit all the same marks we did in the last scenario , but have less time to do so . I usually listen to it a few times for ideas , chart it if necessary , and start writing in the same sitting . I aim to have a good working bass line in a couple of hours and run it six to 10 times . Even with only a few days , you should be able to do solid , full-song takes in the studio without stopping too much .
Scenario 3 – Virtually No Lead Time You haven ’ t heard the song going into the studio . I still chart it and give it a couple of listens . I usually ask if they have any ideas or a particular direction in mind . You ’ ve known the song for 20 minutes ; the artist has known it longer , so their input is very valuable and should be used as the basis for writing . In either case , when I ’ m in this scenario , I usually record it piece by piece . I ’ ll have all my parts written and know how they work together , but it drastically speeds up the process if you ’ re punching it in part by part .
Flexibility is key in all of this . The ability to adapt on the fly combined with the diverse musical repertoire and a positive , professional attitude will put you in the best position to not only land a session gig or two , but also build a reputation that will lead to more opportunities .
JOHN ENTWISTLE
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